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Bird watching trips in Maine, Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birding trips at Cape May New Jersey, Birding Trips in New Jersey, Birdwatching News, Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

80 New Bird Watching Trips / Group Birding Tours in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine and New Jersey have been added for 2024

By: Sally Siko -Admin Best Life Birding

Pack your bags, let’s go birding!!!!

Birders and bird loving photographers of all skill levels are invited to join me, Sally Siko as we explore the trails, woods, fields and shorelines of the United States in search of interesting birds. From North Carolina and beyond, there are plenty of great species to get out and enjoy throughout the year.

Private birding tours in North & South Carolina are also available for reservation to best suit your needs and schedule!

For more information please contact sallysiko@birdwatchingnc.com or call/text (919) 449-7331 to book a private trip.

In addition to local trips here in the Triangle, 80+ new birding tour dates and locations in eastern North Carolina and South Carolina have been added to my 2024 calendar. Click on the dates marked in green in the box below for more information.

Book today as space is limited on these small group tours, Gift Cards are on sale too 🙂

BIRDING TOURS CAPE MAY, NJ

BIRDING TOURS IN MAINE

BIRDING TOURS AT PINCKNEY ISLAND, SC

BIRDING TOURS AT CAPE FEAR SHINERS PARK, NC

BIRDING TOURS AT HUNTINGTON BEACH STATE PARK, SC

BIRDING TOURS THE OBX NORTH CAROLINA

BIRDING TOURS AT THE PEE DEE NWR, NC

BIRDING TOURS AT OLD BYNUM BRIDGE, NC

PAINTED BUNTING BIRDING TOURS AT FT.FISHER, NC

BIRDING TOURS AT WEYMOUTH WOODS, NC


Shown below is the Best Life Birding Instagram feed featuring of some of the species I’ve found for my guests here in the United States.

The year isn’t over yet though. I can’t wait to help you add more birds to your list too!

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes

Purple Martins at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation

For sure, one of the most beautiful birds we’ve got flying around during the springtime here in NC is the Purple Martin.
Now that the breeding season is underway, they are a familiar sight flying over the open fields in search of a meal.
I found this small flock while leading a birding photography class at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh yesterday morning.



Purple Martins are one of the easiest species of Swallow to ID. At 8.7 in long from beak tail with a wingspan of up to 15in, they are the largest species of swallow in the US.
Their glossy black feathers have a violet iridescent color quality which caused by the refraction of incident light. This gives them a bright blue or deep purple appearance depending on the angle and quality of the sunlight reflecting off of their plumage.



Purple Martins are colony cavity nesters but because they are unable to excavate their own nesting holes, these birds rely almost completely on man-made housing for nesting and reproduction.
For this reason, providing specialized nesting boxes (gourd shaped) for these birds is very important the growth of the species.


To entice flocks of Purple Martins to nest on your own property, their houses should be placed in the most open areas of your yard.
It’s best to set up the bird houses away from trees too as this allows the birds plenty of room to swoop and dive after insects without obstruction.
As new generations of Martins are raised, the growing flock will return to your backyard nesting setup year after year.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes

An encounter with a Brown headed Nuthatch at the prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh NC

Here’s a cheerful sight on an early spring morning, the Brown headed Nuthatch!
I encountered this little fella a couple of weeks ago at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh,NC.
It was really neat to just sit and watch him fly back and forth in to eat, pecking and scraping the suet log for a snack.
Nuthatches usually feed in a downward facing position. This time I was able to get a nice close up look at one right side up for a change!

Though the Brown headed Nuthatch is found throughout the entire state of North Carolina,
their most commonly seen in the piedmont and coastal plain regions. Their preference of habitats include mature and open longleaf pine stands found in the dry Sandhills areas, however, they also can be spotted in open areas of loblolly and shortleaf pine stands found near ponds.

As you might expect given the Brown headed Nuthatches proclivity to foraging pine forests, they eat their fare share of pine seeds. Being omnivores, they also consume a large number of insects, larvae and spiders too.
In fact these clever creatures are one of a few species of birds in the world to use tools to access the insects hidden beneath the bark of trees.
Using a short (but strong) stick, they’ll pry away the bark from the trunk to find a six or eight legged meal hiding inside.
Pretty neat huh?

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Northern Cardinal at the Prairie ridge Ecostation

One of the most uncommonly beautiful common birds we’ve got around here happens to be North Carolina’s state bird, the Northern Cardinal.
It’s admittedly easy to overlook these feathered gems because they’re found nearly everywhere but with those striking red and black feathers it’s hard to ignore one for long.

I spotted this one while on a recent birding trip to the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh. With wide open fields and deciduous forest, the Prairie Ridge Ecostation provides the perfect habitat for these handsome birds. It’s not unusual to see 30 or more of them within a 20 minute walk, That place is basically a Cardinal factory haha!



Have you ever wondered how these creatures acquire and maintain their vibrant hues?
Northern Cardinals get their plumage color from pigments within their food which is called “carotenoids.” The bright red berries produced by the Dogwood tree is one of Cardinal’s favorite foods and these are rich in carotenoids.
These berries are metabolized in the birds digestive system then are sent through the cardinal’s bloodstream to the growing follicles of their feathers. Although carotenoids do not give feathers that are fully grown extra color, they do provide their new feathers with a shot of color with every molting cycle.
When a cardinal does not get enough food rich in these important carotenoids, the red hues of their feathers dull when they molt. However, once they are able to find the right food again, newer feathers will have the beautiful red hue shining through.
Aren’t they gorgeous?
🙂

Photos by @sally_siko on the mighty full frame beast, the @canonusa #5ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

A Downy Woodpecker at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation

While birding at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh, North Carolina last week, I spotted this Downy Woodpecker snacking on a Praying Mantis’s egg case.
The tiny guy paid no attention to me and was intent on extracting every last bit of insect larvae out of it’s case.
It was neat to watch him at work at such close range!



Measuring in at about 5.7 inches in length, these little dynamos are the smallest species of Woodpecker found in the United States.
They are among our most widespread species of Woodpecker too with a range that extends from southern Alaska, across Canada as well as throughout most of the rest of the United States from California to south Florida.


Here in North Carolina, Downys are a familiar year round resident in all 100 of our counties. You’re just as likely to see them foraging for a meal in our hardwood forests and brush fields as you are to catch a look at one dining on suet on your backyard feeders.
Keep an eye out for them the next time you go out 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Uncommonly beautiful common bird: The House Finch at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation

With the irruption of unusual species of birds spreading out all across North Carolina, the ones that are getting the most attention out there are the Purple Finches, Pine Siskins and Evening Grosbeaks.
With so many interesting sightings taking place (and taking up space on social media), it’s easy to overlook our more common, yet absolutely lovely birds, the House Finch.

These gregarious little gems are a year round resident of the Tarheel State and are indeed a familiar visitor to our yards and suburban parks. Like most species of Finches, they can be found foraging for a meal in wide open brush fields.
They primarily eat grains, seeds and berries, and are voracious consumers of weed seeds such as nettle and dandelion.
They’ll also dine on small insects, such as aphids and plant lice. And yes, of course they’re frequent visitors to our feeders, particularly if you stock them with sunflower seeds or Nyjer/thistle seed.

Male & female House Finches at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh N.C.

I photographed this pair while on a recent birding trip at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh.
The male featured in the first photo has a vivid purplish-red band of feathers around his head along with a red chin, throat and rump.
His mate featured in the second photo is dressed in soft gray-brown hues and dark-brown blurry streaks against her grayish-white belly. It appears to me like she’s got a tinge of orange plumage color on her crown, below her eyes and on her rump too.

Usually House Finches travel together in large flocks during the winter. These two were indeed part of a larger group but happened to be perched together about 50ft away from the rest of the other Finches.
This encounter is a good example why I enjoy birding at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation so much. With an open grassy habitat that serves as a home for many species of birds, it’s a wonderful place to go in the wintertime if you want to feel the sun on your face and the wind on your back all while exploring the great outdoors.
I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow morning for another group trip!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the @canonusa#5ds

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Birding at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation: The White- throated Sparrow

One of my favorite songbirds to visit North Carolina during the wintertime is the White-throated Sparrow.
Each November, the fields are filled with their cheerful clear whistled songs as they call out to one another from the grass.



I spotted these two while on a birding trip at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh last week. Aren’t they sweet? I love the bold colors on their faces.


A ground nester, the White-throated Sparrow breeds in eastern Alaska, the northernmost states of the U.S. and throughout Canada.
Like most sparrows, their diet mostly consists of berries and insects during the summer. This protein rich diet provides nourishment for growing nestlings as well as building of energy reserves for the autumn migration ahead.


When winter arrives and the bugs are scarce, they mainly dine on seeds which is why they may end up being a familiar sight at our bird feeders.
You can attract them to your own yard by filling your bird feeder with black oil sunflower seeds, small dried fruits and millet.
They also favor habitats that include a brush pile where they can roost so consider providing them with this type of cover on your property.


The White-throated Sparrows are a relatively common sight here in North Carolina throughout the winter. That’s ok though because they certainly are pretty to look at!
Look for them in areas of thick, tangled undergrowth in open tall grass fields and in shrubby areas at the edge of the woods from November through early May.
🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes

An Eastern Towhee encounter at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh

With the cold sets in, the birds puff out lol!
Check out this female Eastern Towhee I spotted recently at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh.
With temperatures hovering in the 30s she was in full on floof mode doing all she could to stay warm on her perch.



By pulling off the beach ball look, birds that spend the winter in colder climates use their feathers in the same way we would use a sleeping bag to stay toasty.


As seen in these photos, when this Towhee needs to get warm, she’ll puff out her feathers, which creates pockets of air between the small feathers which are closest to her skin.
In short order, her own body heat will warm those air pockets to effectively create a cozy down comforter around her body.


As long as their able to remain in this ‘puff mode, Eastern Towhees and other species of birds will remain comfortable, even in the chilliest of Tarheel winter mornings.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Field Notes

An uncommon yet common beauty: A Northern Cardinal at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation

By far, the most common bird I saw during my visit to the Prairie Ridge Ecostation last week were the Northern Cardinals.
It’s funny to me that so many people ignore them. With that vibrant red plumage and contrasting black mask, they’re are simply stunning creatures.



Our official state bird, the Northern Cardinal is a year round resident of North Carolina and are found in every county from the coast to the mountains foraging for a meal in areas of dense brushy undergrowth or in hedges.
Cardinals are of course a familiar backyard visitor too. They usually are seen on the ground below our feeders picking at the fallen seed.



Though they’re indeed numerous, I still enjoy photographing them whenever possible. That color is irresistible to me from a creative perspective.
Plus, whenever I see a Cardinal I’m reminded how important it is not to take a moment (or a bird) like this for granted.
After all, though they may be common around here, they are someone else’s Life Bird in other locations. Thus seeing one is extra special anyway one looks at it 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds